Still one of our favorite South Indian spots. Their kothu soya dosa is a standout--it gives me a solid protein boost, which is hard to find at most South Indian restaurants. The combination of dosa with podi and soya is truly legit. Their sambar and chutneys are always fresh and delicious, and I'm a big fan of their filter coffee as well. What we really appreciate is that the food is both healthy and flavorful. They offer healthier options like millet dosa that actually taste great. Service is quick, and Nitin and Praveen always takes excellent care of us. read more

Kovai Cafe was my first experience with South Indian food. My husband's friend was in town for work, and she requested Indian. Kovai came highly recommended by my husband's coworkers. It was suggested we add ourselves to the waitlist, but on a Tusday night for dinner it appeared to not be necessary as there were several open tables. We had a couple different idly selections as well as the Roadside Kalan and the Kovai Healthy Meal. I liked the spice in the Kalan and one of the chutneys. Our friend, who makes a lot of these dishes at home, said it was all very good. The acoustics were a challenge as voices were echoey and loud. I'd imagine with a full house it'd be near impossible to have a conversation. Service was good. Food came out fast and the staff was professional. Parking is plentiful although it's a bit tricky to get out with the traffic. read more

I ordered their healthy thali. The biryani was good, and the curd rice was fine, though it would be much better with a Bangalore-style touch like pomegranate seeds, tempered green chilies, and mustard seeds. However, the sprouts were too raw, not soft, completely lacked flavor and taste (little on bad side); sautéing them would be a huge improvement. Note: Service was excellent! read more

Had a chance to try Kovai Cafe and the snacks here which were nice. If you are looking for good veggie food this is a nice option. I tried this as takeout and this was my review of what i tried: * Paruppa vada - these were crispy and went well with the sauce it came with * Paneer 65 - I like that these had a lighter coating and you could really taste the paneer. The coating was flavorful and these are best enjoyed fresh! * Veggie pakora - this was pretty good and crispy. Again the batter was fairly light which I really liked and overall everyone enjoyed this * Plantain pakora - these were interesting to try but pretty nice as well. It went well with the chutneys Overall, good experience trying a variety of appetizers! read more

One of my favorite South Indian spots. I've tried a handful of different dishes here and liked them all. Rlly flavorful & loved how crispy the dosas are read more

Kovai Cafe - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

Kovai Cafe did the catering at hubs milestone bday party.They came prepared with everything so I didn't have to worry about anything! Arrived at the given time were setup and ready before my guests arrived... I must say exceptional service and finger licking dosas.... All in all a 11/10! read more

Kovai Cafe - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

Didn't taste the same it used to. The management or chef has surely changed. The food items were too oily that I even got a heart burn. read more

Stumbled into this place since place I usually go to had a long wait time. This place satisfy my dosa craving! The dosa was nice and crisp and lots of potato masala filling! Coffee was nice too. Need to come back and try more. read more

See all

Stopped in to get some tea as we were waiting for my bird to get some medical attention. We were greeted right away and asked if we were dining in or taking it to go? " Dining Inn please " we were given menus that had items on it that honestly I had no clue what they were so I started google searching each item. The person working there saw me looking things up so he came to our table and went through the whole menu with us and explained the differences between the the menu items. I thought that was very nice of him to spend the time explaining everything to us, 10 stars for him!! I now have a better understanding of what's what :-) The tea came piping hot and was fantastic! I noted a nice Bergamont and cardamom flavor, so good. Bottom line: the place is clean, the service is fantastic and I can tell you for sure that the tea is wonderful. read more

See all

Sai at the front was super helpful and made the whole experience! Stopped here on a rainy morning drive down 280 and SO glad I did. Rainy day + this mini combo breakfast = perfect pairing . Crispy dosa, vada, pongal + like 6 chutneys all on one tray -- colorful, flavorful, every one of them different . Sambar was legit, and filter coffee in the steel tumbler on a rainy day? That's a whole different experience . Very old school Tamil Nadu vibes. Mention this review to Sai for extra smiles! ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ read more

Kovai Cafe - Mini-tiffin Breakfast Combo special - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

This time we tried the Benne Masala Dosa. Not authentic, dosa itself is bigger, but not thicker or taste like the Bangalore style where it is famous for. Masala was like baby food, a bland potato mash. Lot of butter was there , but it doesn't taste that great. Thali was decent, not bad but not great either. Paruppu vada was too thin and spoiled by trying to improve this by adding masaa ingredients. Idly vada combo was suppose to serve first but came later after dosa, which mad it difficult. Idly itself was very soft even though it was not hot. Idly is not the regular type either it is kusboo idly or something like that. Vada was hot but not good though. Millet combo was different, dosa itself was little sour, may be not many takers? Pongal was ok and the sweet was not great. We do make the dosa and pongal at home. Also mixing up millets may not be beneficial as you think. Not all millets work together. Service was lacking, order if the food delivery and lost our coffee to a different table. Kovai cafe needs to decide to go authentic or appease local customers, I think they are struggling with a direction. read more

See all

I had come to Kovai cafe when it had just opened - I would not have recommended them at that time. I came for a breakfast this morning - wow! What a change - for $9.99 (8am to 10am) the tiffin is very good value for money. The filter coffee with jaggery (ask for it) and the millet kesari was super yummy. The chutneys were unique - the sambhar was more like daal. It used to be very oily - it has improved quite a bit! The staff was very polite and explained all the options to us. Kovai is another name for Coimbatore - city in India. It's a very simple canteen style ambiance :) read more

See all

Pretty average overall. Table had baby corn fry and multiple type of dosas and vada. Nothing stood out and the sambar and chutney were particularly underwhelming. Filter coffee was also a little bit on the lighter side. Normal ambiance and good service though. read more

We arrived here, pretty hungry, after a walk at Shoreline Park. this was a Sunday morning at 11 AM and the parking lot was crowded and we had to get on the waiting list. Good signs! We used the QR code to explore the menu while we waited. Inside it is a clean spare dining room. We ordered two vegetarian thalis and a Payasam to eat there and a Gobi Pachamiligai to take home. Our orders arrived in a short amount of time. I will post a picture of what is in the thali. Suffice to say in writing, the flavors were excellent! Although my rasam was cold. The payasam is a sweet so I wouldn't order it again, but it had been praised by friends. It was good. I still prefer the gulab jamun at Yellow Chili up the road. We had not heard of Gobi Pachamiligai but it was as marked with a so we tried it. It seems to be based on the green sauce you get with a samosa but with raw onion and chili mixed in. Good chili heat and good flavor. We'll be back with friends. Adding pix of a couple more dishes. read more

See all

We ordered paper masala dosa , rava masala dosa and coffee . They both came with the perfect amount of sambar . The staff was friendly and would come by the table to check on us every few minutes to see if we needed anything . The ambiance is indoor informal . read more

Kovai Cafe - Filter Coffee - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

I have to rate this 5 stars and it totally deserves it for the efforts put into the menu and making every dish so fresh with the best ingredients. I could tell so because I did not feel like I had a heavy lunch after eating a good meal here. This is a pure vegetarian south indian restaurant (tamil style food). I tried kothu idly (loved it), mini podi idly (LOVED IT), sundal (tasted good but could be steamed for a little bit more), and vada (fresh and crispy)! The ambiance of the restaurant is nice and clean, the service was super quick (although they are pretty busy on weekend evenings), food tastes great and they offer eco friendly to-go food containers. I am definitely going here again to try rest of the things on their menu. read more

See all

The Roadside Kalan wasn't up to par - the mushrooms were whole, but lacked the usual flavor. The sambar was a bit sweet and that's new . We'd been here many times before, so our expectations were high, but unfortunately, we left feeling a bit disappointed. Hopefully, they'll bounce back. read more

Authentic dosas with super fresh and delicious chutneys. Service, ambiance, and cleanliness were spot on. Try the filter coffee as an aperitif or a digestif :) read more

Kovai Cafe - Filter coffee - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

Good food and great service. We had dinner here on Saturday night, and it was quite busy with a 30-minute wait. The staff we interacted with were very polite and welcoming. Regarding the food, the Curd Vada and Elaneer Payasam were delicious and stood out as the best dishes among what we tried. The Kal Dosa and Mysore Kara Masala Dosa, along with their accompanying chutneys, were good and had very little oil. We also tried the Kovai Roadside Kalan, which was a little underwhelming. read more

See all

SERVICE - located in a busy shopping complex next to India cash and carry - parking can be hard to get especially during the weekends or weekday evenings - tables for 2-4 diners - very short wait on weekday evenings and weekend afternoon - service is fast and wants you to order within a few minutes of seating - food served as it is prepared and comes out relatively quickly - restrooms and hand wash available - ambiance good for a casual meal MENU - wide selection of South Indian dishes - all vegetarian with vegan options - well priced FOOD - sambar vada (10/10): three pieces of fried vada soaked in thick vegetable sambar. This has to be my favorite dish I ate here. The sambar is thick and spicy while the Vada is fresh and soaks up all the flavors from the sambar. I would go back just to eat this. It does have to be eaten fresh otherwise the Vada gets soggy, so I would not recommend getting this as takeout. - mysore kaaram masala dosa (8/10): dosa filled with spicy chutney and potato masala and served with four chutneys and sambar. This was also very tasty. I liked how the mysore chutney was spicy but not overwhelming. It is one of the few places to give four chutneys as most only give one or two. - kara podi babycorn (5/10): deep fried baby corn tossed in spicy podi. In theory this sounded really good. And it was for maybe a few bites. If you were going in a larger group then I would get this to split as a side or appetizer. Between 1-3 people, it lost its flavor after the first few bites. - kovai kothu idli (9/10): idli sautéed and mixed with a vegetable curry. This was a unique way to eat idli. I was not exactly sure what to expect in terms of taste or texture. The texture felt like eating upma but the taste was like eating a coconut korma. I would get this again. WOULD I GO BACK? Yes! Very comforting and flavorful food that is served quick and has lots of options for every palate. read more

See all

This place is not for you if you have an infant in stroller who cannot sit in high chair. They do not allow strollers. I visited with a friend and a 6 month old baby, even though we mentioned we can adjust it ourselves and put the stroller in a corner seat, they didn't allow it. Additionally the music and crowd is too loud for infants to overstimulate and makes them fuzzy. The coffee was pretty good. Very strong, stronger than any other filter coffee I had in Bay Area. The paneer 65 was nice, hot, crispy, flavorful. It wasn't oily or dirty spicy at all, we all really liked it. My friends got onion uthapam, and millet Mysore masala dosa, and I got the Guntur masala dosa. The guntur masala dosa was really spicy but like flaming hot Cheetos- good spicy. I really liked their sambar too. I'd give 4/5 for food. But only 2/5 for the service. The staff seemed overly sensitive to things and rather than explaining why it is being done a certain way, would just say the guidelines and walk away. I think they could have handled the situation better read more

Kovai Cafe - Filter Coffee - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

We were brought several dishes we did not order. The dosas arrived lukewarm to cold. Every item on our order was served together, appetizer and main course. Chaotic place. Neither was the food exceptional nor was the ambience good. Maybe lunch will be less harried‍ read more

Love the food, service and pricing have been here at least 15 times and I love their china vengaaya uthapm read more

Kovai Cafe - Menu - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

If you want actual authentic South Indian food in the Bay Area, Kovai Café is the real deal. Everyone throws around the word "authentic," but this place truly lives up to it -- easily one of the top South Indian spots in the Bay. Every dish hit perfectly. The lemon rice, benne kara dosa (a must-try for spice lovers), rose halwa/seera, rose milk, and masala chaas were all unique and tasted just like they do in India. The mango lassi, desserts, and masala dosa were spot on, and the sambar was incredibly flavorful. Even my 3-year-old loves their mini ghee idly! The filter coffee is outstanding -- exactly how it should be. What made the experience even better was the service from Praveen. It was a very busy day, yet he still made sure everything arrived on time, brought extra sambar and chutney without hesitation, and genuinely cared about how we were enjoying the meal. Most Indian restaurants in the Bay Area don't prioritize service, but Kovai Café really does. I'll be coming back here often. Give it a try -- you won't be disappointed. read more

Kovai Cafe - Mini Ghee Idlies - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

Went to Kovai Cafe with my family to try some authentic Tamil food! We went around 1pm and the waitlist was 45-55 minutes long so I recommend either going at an odd time or joining the waitlist and running some errands in the meantime. Once you are off the waitlist, you have to respond within one minute to confirm your spot and then your table will hold for 3 minutes so make sure to keep an eye on your waitlist status. My parents got the Namma Ooru Saapadu meal and then I got Poori Masala. Poori Masala (4/5): I really liked the poori! It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a good nutty flavor. I thought the masala (potato) could have had more seasoning and been spicier. Big portion size Namma Ooru Saapadu (3/5): Comes with a lot of different curries and rice/roti. The roti was not very soft and some of the side dishes like the sambhar, kurma, and rasam could have been spicier. They enjoyed the desert - the payasam was hot and sweet. Overall, my parents thought the meal was average. Overall, I would give this place a 3.5/5. Authentic food, however, food could be spicier and the wait is long, which makes it less likely we would return. read more

See all

A friend recommended this place for good South Indian food in the South Bay. We reached here about half an hour before closing time on the weekend and there was 10-15 mins wait. They have scan code at the door to get added to their wait-list. Good and quick service. We were looking forward to having Sukku Paal on the cold night but unfortunately they didn't have it. We ordered Coffee, and it was good. We liked mini sambar idlis. Butter Masala Dosa was okay, so were the chutneys. Onion Podi Uttapam was good. We loved their Sambar. read more

Kovai Cafe - Coffee - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

Great food and great service; hard to not recommend Kovai for that casual vegetarian-carby itch. Excellent service! They went above and beyond for us novices in this kind of Indian cuisine. Our server went to great detail in recommending items that work for our party (a young toddler included). They made sure throughout the meal we were doing well and checked in more regularly as we weren't very familiar with things. Dosa was great! Fantastic texture and seasoning. Really gets that addictive aroma with a light crispiness that gives way to a soft chew. Never had the rice pancake (name??) but it's quite tasty! Generously seasoned. The thali is a nice combination meal. Comes with a mixture of all their carbs to keep you tasting all their good stuff in one platter. Sweet in this case is a remarkably sweet stew that is added on so that's differentiating it from the regular version. read more

The Onam sadhya was amazing. We had to wait for almost 2 hours but the food was worth the wait. The best I have eaten in the Bay Area. It was a little crowded, but once you see the food, the compliants will disappear read more

Kovai Cafe - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

Overall Food - 4/5 We tried Idli - soft Medu Vada - good and never oily Rasa vada Ghee dosa Mysore masala dosa Filter coffee - too bitter for my taste Sulemani chai - really good Service - 5/5 very prompt and professional service in terms of taking the order and serving the dishes. Ambiance 4/5 pretty decent, although the space is on the small side it is used really well Great new addition to South Indian restaurants in Bay Area. read more

See all

Another shout out for my Kovai peeps ! Each time we visit - we appreciate their continued high quality food -- we don't go to any other South Indian place. Hands down the best of the best ! read more

Kovai Cafe - Consistently the best !!!! - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

TLDR : Small but good South Indian food joint in the bay area offers good food but long wait times especially on weekends. They offer a nice variety of food options including Thali. The dosas are flavorful and crisp. Loved the Guntur Chilly dosa with its spicy and powerful flavors. Overall a good experience read more

See all

Kovai Cafe is a super popular spot for fiery South Indian vegetarian eats! They offer a range of tiffins and meals, and a highlight item (offered only for lunch) was their Namma Ooru Saapadu, a round thali centered on rice, chappathi, appalam, and Indian pickle, accompanied by nine different items including Kurma (a tangy yogurt-based curry), Vada (a crunchy fritter), Poriyal (spiced green beans), Kootu (gourd with lentils), Sambar (a creamy, spicy lentil vegetable stew), Kara Kuzhambu (a spicy tamarind gravy), Kadayal (a spicy tomato stew), Rasam (spicy peppery soup), Curd (yogurt), and Payasam (a semolina sweet). All of the components were flavorful and delicious, and most had a serious level of spice! My favorites were the Kurma and Kootu, but the combination of the dishes made the meal, which came at an extremely affordable price. read more

See all

Maybe my third visit? Done and dusted!! They are very close to my house and right next to Cash and Carry. I have tried their food a couple times. Food is average to below average but not terrible. I went there today at 1 pm and another older gentleman showed at the same time. They were full and we were told to put our names on wait list. We did that. After 20 minutes the older gentleman got his spot. I waited outside for 40 minutes and the staff came out and said tables were getting ready soon. Pretty soon a lot of patrons were done and started leaving and tables started opening up. I was freezing outside and hungry!! Short story, more folks showed up soon and the staff decided to offer the others tables quickly as they opened up. I was told that I was a party of 1 and they needed a table of 2 to open up!! What the heck!!??? WHY DO YOU HAVE A WAIT LIST? You should have told me up front that it would be a very long wait and I would have not waited shivering in the cold outside from 1 PM to 1:40 PM! NEVER AGAIN!!!! Editing review after owner response. I showed up exactly at 1 pm. I know since I just landed from Miami and went directly. After waiting for a good 10 to 15 minutes we were told to put ourselves on the wait list. I let the other gentleman go ahead and then added myself. 1:25 - sorry NO. They had my table ready but gave it away to someone else cuz they were party of 2 and another party of 2. I walked away at 1:40!! Went straight to cash and carry and got my groceries and lunch plate time stamp at 2:02! read more

Last feedback of mine has changed over months now. Probably our most visited restaurant. They took the feedback seriously and made corrections after the initial weeks. Love the variety and quality. Our current go to place for southindian tiffins and meals. Love all the special festival menu and thali menu. Thank you team for providing quality food. read more

Kovai Cafe - Rava Dosa - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

Tried Benne dosa ( offourse loaded with ghee, make sure to ask for the butter on the side or you will get the dosa cherry topped with butter )and Kothu paratha both of which were good. We tried the Thali as well. If you are from Andhra and ordering the food from here please do not compare it to the tastes you are used to from Andhra. ( puliodarai is nothing close to Pulihora ) . The tomato bath that we picked as part of three rice combo was spoilt and we had to send it back. Sambar rice was yummy. Their millet dosa is great too if you are looking for slightly healthier option. Lastly we completed our meal with their filter coffee which took us back to the days in India when we would wake up to the coffee smell in the morning. All in all a good tiffins place. On weekends be ready to stand in line as its a small place with limited tables and does fill up quickly. read more

For the first few times I went good quality great. Took friends then family. Last time Food quality and service was bad. Response from server was He is all by himself and I don't think the original cook was there. Since I could see the way the dosa was made and we wasted money. I am hoping you keep your quality and not like the others get customers and then go cheap in service and food. Thanks read more

Today our experience at Kovai was pretty disappointing. I understand it being Ugadi weekend, we waited for almost 30 minutes and another 15 minutes wait once seated because we ordered the Ugadi thali. I usually love their lunch thali. Today, we ordered their Ugadi special lunch thali. Most of the items were bad or mediocre. Their vada was hard, and had absolutely no salt. The sweet item was watery, which felt like mango shake with some jaggery added to it. The only sides that were ok was their majjige huli and daal. No ghee, no pickle. Even their curd was very sticky, felt store bought. read more

TLDR- Everything tasted great! Quick service too. Interesting options on the menu! We tried Kothu Paratha before, but have never seen Kothu Idly. So we decided to order it. It came with salan and tasted great. Mild masalas. I did wish they served it with a side of yogurt/raita though. We tried their combo meal to try a little bit of everything. Idly, Vada and Kichidi. We were surprised to see Upma served as Kichidi and then realized the Tamilians call it Rava Kichidi. The North Indian in our group was expecting to see the Gujarati style kichidi. Nevertheless it was tasty. I need to call out that you can taste a lot of ghee in it. It can be a special treat but not something you can order regularly. The masala dosa was good, the chutneys that came with it were ok too, special mention for the coconut chutney. The coriander chutney and the tomato chutney were a little disappointing. Dosa was a paper roast. We would have preferred it a tad bit thicker The next exciting dish that we tried were the Gobi pachimilagai. We were hesitant to order and inquired about the ingredients, that waiter simply said, I highly recommend it. And it lived upto the hype. My version of describing the dish - Gobi Manchurian with a twist. It is battered fried cauliflower with a flavorful, spicy mint chutney. Tasted yumm! Lastly filter coffee. It was good! I tasted better coffees before, but this is not too far from the best. Definitely coming back to try more of their interesting menu items. read more

See all

This is a very popular South Indian restaurant. Gets quite busy on weekends, so try to go there early . It is a vegetarian restaurant. Ordered the Special Masala Dosa which had the usual potato masala with a dusting or some spice powder and topped with butter. It was also served open face . Tasted good and fresh. The chutneys and sambhar was also good. Also tried the Namma Oooru Saapadu ( platter) which includes various different items. The platter was served pretty quickly, so the items must have been prepared well in advance Overall liked the food. Service was decently attentive. Will try it again to try other items. read more

See all

Unfortunately this place is just overrated. We went there because it was highly recommended by friends and family. The service was really good and quick and so was the ambience. Tea and coffee were good but the dosas were not good at all. None of the chutneys impressed. We left disappointed Edited for the owner's benefit: Thank you for requesting details. We had millet masala dosa. The potato masala lacked any flavor. Among the chutneys - all were less in salt . The white chutney was ok but we have had better. The kids had plain dosa which felt dry and they ended up wasting it. Service was really good as we mentioned but food didn't live up to the hype created by our family and friends who recommended this place. read more